Reversed

☆26☆

Nari stood in front of the mirror in the room she had once shared with her sister.  She smoothed down the black satin of the funeral hanbok.  Her hair was neatly parted on the side and tied back.  She nestled a small bobby pin with a tiny white bow in her hair just above her ear.  Her eyes were swollen from all the crying and they felt prickly as well. 

She did one last once over and then turned to prepare to leave the house and head to the funeral hall.  The door opened and her mother stepped in, staring down at a phone in her hand.  "Nari, could you help me?" She looked up at Nari with a puzzled expression. 

"Sure, Mom," said Nari softly, observing her mother in her own black clothing.  It broke her heart a little more.  No parent should ever have to bury their own child.  It was a terrible situation they all found themselves in today. 

"This is...um...well, it's your...ah, it's Nana's phone."  Her mother choked up on her words.  Her mouth worked around as she fought back fresh tears.  She frowned and fidgeted with the phone a moment before abruptly holding it out to Nari.  "I can't unlock it.  She's been getting some notifications or something from something.  It keeps dinging but I can't see the messages or whatever. Can you help?"

Nari smiled softly at her mother's weary face.  "Sure, I'll look at it."  She put a few numbers into the phone and was quickly rejected.  She sat down on Nana's bed and frowned.  What kind of password could her sister have used? 

The door opened and Gina walked in, bowing slightly to Nari's mother.  "Nari, your dad is waiting by the front door.  He said we should leave soon." 

"Gina, dear, you don't need to come if you don't want to.  It's our job to stay by Nana's side for a while.  You should stay here and rest."  Nari's mother reached out and held Gina's hands loosely in her own.  She smiled softly and patted the girl's hands.

Gina pulled the older woman into a tight hug.  She didn't care about propriety or Korean manners at this point.  The woman obviously needed a hug and she was just the one to do it.  She felt the older woman stiffen and then quickly relax into the hug, her own arms reaching around Gina's waist to hold her tightly.  The thin shoulders shook slightly and the woman took a deep breath, trying to swallow her tears.  "Mrs. Choi, I will go and I will support you all as best I can.  I'm not one to desert a friend."  She smiled warmly at a misty eyed Nari. 

Nari was glad to see someone loving on her mother.  She had done a lot of it, but sometimes coming from someone who didn't know you that well, the comfort would take on a whole new meaning.  She went back to fiddling with the phone and Gina came to sit beside her after Nari's mom left the room. 

"What are you doing?" She looked down at the phone in Nari's hand with vague curiosity.

"It's Nana's.  Mom says it keeps dinging and she can't figure out how to unlock it.  I can't figure out her passcode.  It wasn't her birthday or mine or anything related to our parents.  It wasn't her address or anything like that."  Nari chewed on her bottom lip and stared at the passcode screen with a deep frown.

"Well, by looking around this room I can guarantee you it's one of two dates.  Try 0613 or 1095."  She sucked in some air between her teeth and cocked her head to one side.  "Or maybe 1013." 

"Huh?"  Nari looked confused.  "What kind of dates would those be?  How would you think of those?" 

"Honey, look around this room.  Nana was in love with BTS and even more in love with Park Jimin.  Obviously her passcode would correlate to either BTS' debut date or Jimin's birthday."  Gina grinned confidently and watched as Nari put the date of 0613 in the phone and it was declined.  Once she put in 1013 the phone clicked open.  The battery was dangerously low so Nari rushed over to the charger and plugged it in quickly.  Notifications poured in, mostly texts from friends wondering if she was okay and then texts from those same friends who were now mourning the loss of a friend.  A few Twitter notifications popped up and Nari looked at them curiously.  There were a few from JiminsScarf.  She opened up the message and her eyes grew wide as she read the current messages.